Looking After Planet Earth: Past, Present, and Future
Climate Change
Anthony Silva
Change is a natural part of life, for both humans and our earth. The earth's climate has changed many times over the course of its history, and this change continues today. However, many scientists believe that the change the earth is seeing today is different from the change that has occurred at other times. These scientists believe that the change occurring to the earth's climate today is being caused by humans.
Mt. Pinatubo Eruption 1991
The earth's climate can be changed by many natural means, such as volcanoes, ocean currents, the sun, etc. These sources of change can have serious consequences for the climate. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo (on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines) in 1991 caused a worldwide decrease in temperatures of approximately .75 degrees C, which lasted for a few years. It also increased the size of the hole in the ozone layer and affected flooding in the Mississippi River area in the US and drought in parts of Africa.
Natural climate change can also have serious effects on humans. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo threw a lot of ash into the air, which landed on rooftops, causing them to collapse and kill the inhabitants. The volcano destroyed nearly 5,000 homes and damaged over 70,000. As many as 800 people may have died due to the eruption of this volcano. Clearly, the effects of natural climate change can be disastrous.
(cc) BY SA, Senor Codo
Today, however, man-made climate change is also having a serious affect on the earth's climate. Recently, scientists have been focusing specifically on the effects that humans have had on the temperature of the planet. According to scientists, the earth's average temperature has increased by approximately 1.5 degrees F in the last 100 years. The warmest year ever recorded was in 2005, and 80% of the warmest years have occurred since 1998. This global warming effect is believed to be caused mainly by the increase in greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), that prevent the heat of the sun from escaping from earth. This trapped heat remains in the earth's atmosphere, thereby making it warmer. The large increase in CO2 comes mainly from burning fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, for energy and transportation (both public and private). It also results from other everyday areas, including the plants and animals we eat; the engineering, design and marketing of the items around us; the buildings we live in, stay in, and visit; the places we study at, work at, travel to and enjoy; the health care we require, including hospitals and dentists; the places we get our news from.
Most scientists now agree that global warming is happening as a result of human activities. This fact has raised some questions:
What have humans been doing that has contributed to climate change?
Are there better ways to do these things?
What are some effective solutions for a better planet?
Check out the pages on this web site for some possible answers to these questions.
Climate Change: Basic Information
Greenhouse gases and global temperatures have been increasing for many years, especially in the last 100 years. If temperatures continue to rise, the earth's environment will change greatly in the next 100 years. Much of the greenhouse gases in the US are created by burning fossil fuels. If we continue to emit greenhouse gases in this way, there will be serious health and environmental effects.
This source was created by the US government (.gov), so I think I can trust the information. There are a lot of basic facts covering science, health, and the environment. This page does not have many details or statistics, but there are links to other sources by the government that have more details. There is not list of references, though. This source is current (last updated on 9/8/2009). I think this will be a good source of basic information about climate change.
Looking After Planet Earth: Past, Present, and Future
Climate Change
Anthony SilvaChange is a natural part of life, for both humans and our earth. The earth's climate has changed many times over the course of its history, and this change continues today. However, many scientists believe that the change the earth is seeing today is different from the change that has occurred at other times. These scientists believe that the change occurring to the earth's climate today is being caused by humans.
Natural climate change can also have serious effects on humans. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo threw a lot of ash into the air, which landed on rooftops, causing them to collapse and kill the inhabitants. The volcano destroyed nearly 5,000 homes and damaged over 70,000. As many as 800 people may have died due to the eruption of this volcano. Clearly, the effects of natural climate change can be disastrous.
Today, however, man-made climate change is also having a serious affect on the earth's climate. Recently, scientists have been focusing specifically on the effects that humans have had on the temperature of the planet. According to scientists, the earth's average temperature has increased by approximately 1.5 degrees F in the last 100 years. The warmest year ever recorded was in 2005, and 80% of the warmest years have occurred since 1998. This global warming effect is believed to be caused mainly by the increase in greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), that prevent the heat of the sun from escaping from earth. This trapped heat remains in the earth's atmosphere, thereby making it warmer. The large increase in CO2 comes mainly from burning fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, for energy and transportation (both public and private). It also results from other everyday areas, including the plants and animals we eat; the engineering, design and marketing of the items around us; the buildings we live in, stay in, and visit; the places we study at, work at, travel to and enjoy; the health care we require, including hospitals and dentists; the places we get our news from.
Most scientists now agree that global warming is happening as a result of human activities. This fact has raised some questions:
Check out the pages on this web site for some possible answers to these questions.
Sources Used
About.com: Geography, Mt. Pinatubo Eruption, Matt Rosenberg, http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/pinatubo.htm, September 19,2009.Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change: Basic Information, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html, August 31, 2009.
Summary and Evaluation of Sources
Climate Change: Basic Information
Greenhouse gases and global temperatures have been increasing for many years, especially in the last 100 years. If temperatures continue to rise, the earth's environment will change greatly in the next 100 years. Much of the greenhouse gases in the US are created by burning fossil fuels. If we continue to emit greenhouse gases in this way, there will be serious health and environmental effects.
This source was created by the US government (.gov), so I think I can trust the information. There are a lot of basic facts covering science, health, and the environment. This page does not have many details or statistics, but there are links to other sources by the government that have more details. There is not list of references, though. This source is current (last updated on 9/8/2009). I think this will be a good source of basic information about climate change.
Possible Sources
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